School hierarchy needs a look

Yes, administrator salaries need to be competitive to recruit and maintain high quality personnel. Kudos to the article (“School administrators’ pay among highest in county,” Feb. 6) for pointing out that Spokane area administrators are overpaid in comparison with other business leaders in the region.

It is truly offensive that Spokane’s superintendent enjoyed a 10 percent pay increase over the past two years while the people who really do the work, the instructors and support staff, had salary stagnation.

The sheer number of district administrators also needs to be considered. The top-heavy system in place needs a very close examination. In these days of pay for performance, the lackluster progress of local schools just doesn’t fit with the luxurious salaries of education administrators.

It’s a long-established system in which change comes seldom if at all, but it’s truly time to shape things up. Basing administrative salaries to the local economy and pay increases to the cost of living (shouldn’t they have had salary decreases over the past two years?) would be a refreshing change and could cause some increased accountability.

Dan Brown

Spokane